Jürgen Klopp on Alexis Mac Allister breaking down in tears after Argentina lost the FIFA World Cup final to Spain.
🗣️ “People saw Alexis Mac Allister crying after the final whistle, but they didn’t see what I see every day. They didn’t see the player who gives absolutely everything for his country, who runs until his legs stop responding, and who would sacrifice himself a hundred times if it meant making Argentina smile.”
“I spoke to Alexis after the game. He wasn’t talking about the defeat. He wasn’t talking about the medal. He kept saying, ‘I wanted to do it for Leo… I wanted him to leave with one last World Cup.’ Those words hit me hard because they came from the heart of a player who had nothing left to give.”
“Alexis played that final with incredible courage. He fought for every ball, covered every blade of grass and never stopped believing. Yet when the match ended, all he could think about was that he couldn’t give his captain the ending he dreamed of. That’s why he cried.”
“The dressing room was silent. Nobody blamed anyone. There were only tears because they knew they had given everything. Then I saw Alexis sitting there with his head in his hands. That image will stay with me forever because it wasn’t the face of a footballer who had failed it was the face of a man whose heart had been broken.”
“People will remember the result. I’ll remember a young man who emptied his soul for Argentina, who walked off the biggest stage in football believing he had let his country down, even after one of the finest performances of his career. That’s the cruel side of football.”
“I told him something very simple: ‘Alexis, don’t let one night make you question everything you’ve done. You didn’t fail Argentina. You honoured that shirt with every tackle, every pass, every sprint and every drop of sweat. One final cannot erase that.’”
“One day, the pain will fade. But the love Alexis Mac Allister showed for Argentina that night will never be forgotten. Some players leave the pitch exhausted. He left it with his heart in pieces because representing his country meant everything to him.”
🇵🇹 I think the market right now means there isn’t really a ‘Mo Salah at Roma type’ signing for Liverpool.
Instead they have to find their ‘Mo Salah at Basel type’ signing.
What I mean by that is to look outside of the top five leagues.
One player who would be on my shortlist is Carlos Forbs.
23 G/As last season, including 5 G/As in 9 UCL games.
⚡️ He’s incredibly fast. Makes good vertical runs behind defences but also a good one vs one player with quick feet who can change direction, make clever feints and glide past defenders with ease.
Last season he completed 65% of his dribbles - the most out of any player in the Jupiler Pro League who averaged at least 4 dribbles per 90 minutes.
📊 He’s excellent at making cut-backs and going down the touchline. Averaged the 5th most passes into the penalty area (4.25 per 90 minutes) and 0.25 xA per 90 in all competitions.
Only 22-years-old, I think he still has room to grow off the ball defensively and physically he could use his body better - he is small in stature but I still feel like sometimes he loses physical duels that he shouldn’t.
So I’m not saying Forbs is perfect. Liverpool don’t really have a perfect option in the market right now.
However, he does have potential and a profile that would suit Andoni Iraola’s style of play. His speed could bring a new threat to Liverpool in transition and his ability to supply passes and cut-backs into the box is something that could provide Isak with a lot of chances.
Always appreciate a character that has been written off and bounced back as well.
Didn’t get the opportunities he should have at Wolves. Similar to Vitinha. Or Salah at Chelsea.
There aren’t many RWs (particularly left footed ones) in the market right now. Forbs is one I would keep an eye on alongside Yankuba Minteh.
🚨🤍 𝗡𝗘𝗪: Yan Diomande emotional letter to his late sister:
"Dear Roxane,
Remember when somebody bought me a fake United jersey, and I wrote Ronaldo 7 on the back with the black marker?"
"We didn’t know rich or poor. We just knew happiness."
"Remember 25 people sleeping in one house back in Abidjan? Mum wanted to watch her soap operas. Everyone else wanted to watch movies. Remember how I always used to fake like I was asleep and then go into the TV room after midnight? I’d put the TV on real low. Just like 2 volume bars. I’d watch football in the dark and dream."
"Remember when the adults saw me playing football in the dirt and nicknamed me “Roberto Carlos” because of how hard I would shoot? And remember how I was secretly so mad about it, because CR7 was my idol?"
"Remember when I went to play so far from home? I was 9 years old. Inter Foot Sud Comoé, all the way near the Ghana border. Just a little boy on his own. I don’t know if I ever told you this story, but me and the other kids used to go into the village and steal potatoes because we were so hungry. We did a “bank heist.” Two kids distracting the shop owner, and 18 other kids running out with two potatoes. They weren’t even good. But they tasted amazing. Hahahah. It’s still my favorite thing to eat. Boiled potatoes with some oil. It reminds me of those times."
"Remember when I got my first real football boots, and I used to sleep with them? Growing up, I always played in those white plastic sandals. Even when I go back home now, I still play in them. It’s our tradition."
"Remember when I would come back home, and you would tell my friends from the neighborhood, “Why did you stop training? Yan is not going to buy you cars. You have to keep working."
"You were 10 years old, and already my agent."
"Remember how we used to sit and dream about moving to France? How we were going to go shopping and get our own apartment and I was going to be a rich footballer with cars and a big house, and you wouldn’t have to worry about nothing. You were the one who always believed that I could be the next Cristiano, when everybody else laughed."
"Remember when I moved to America for high school at 15, and I was so homesick? I didn’t know what anybody was saying for months. They sat me next to a French kid, and he tried to translate everything the teacher was saying. Remember when I called you, saying, “You won’t believe it, the kids here argue with teachers."
"Back home, you know we wouldn’t even dare to blink at our elders."
"Remember when I couldn’t believe the kids were smoking after school? You used to say it sounded like I was in an American TV show."
"Remember when they took me on trial at Bournemouth? At Chelsea, Rangers, Olympiacos, Crystal Palace? Eze and Olise even came up to me after one training and said, “Yo kid, you’re really good.”"
"But they still didn’t sign me."
"Even the B teams in the MLS didn’t want me. I didn’t even know why. They never gave me a reason. The adults handled everything. They just kept taking me all around Europe, and everybody kept saying no."
"My visa was up. My dream was over. They sent me back to Africa, and we cried together."
"You were the one who never stopped believing. A few weeks later, I signed for Leganés and we cried different tears."
"That was back when I used to have emotions. Now, I don’t feel anything. It’s like I’m not even human. Since you died, I’m just blank."
"I don’t even think I shed a tear the day they told me that you were gone. I was just in shock."
"It was a few weeks after I made my debut for Leganés. Who makes their debut at 18 against Real Madrid? It was too crazy. It was a dream."
"And then it was a nightmare. Someone kept calling me from back home. I was annoyed. I didn’t understand why they kept calling me."
"I picked up, and they didn’t even soften it. You know how it is back home. No emotions. Just……..
“Your sister is gone.”
“What?”
“She died.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Somebody put something in her drink at a party, and she never woke up. She is gone.”
"You were 15."
"15."
"I never got any answers. I don’t know if I want to know why. Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe it’s just something that happens in our country. Maybe I could have protected you. I don’t know."
"I try to trust God’s plan. It’s all I can do. I don’t try to forget, because I know I won’t forget. All I can do is use the pain to work harder, and to do everything we dreamed about."
"I wrote this because I can’t speak about it. I wrote this because I want you to know that I will make sure that you live on. I will make sure that everybody knows your name. The whole world."
"Everything I do on a football pitch, it’s for you."
"So much has happened since I last saw you…… You would not even believe it. I don’t know if I believe it."
"You know what’s crazy? After my debut against Madrid, I actually swapped shirts with Mbappé. Remember when we used to watch him on TV, and you’d say, “Mbappé? Yeah, he’s good. But my brother is better.”
"I was wrong about one thing. I don’t want to be rich. I see what it does to people, even to family. When I was at Leganés, everything I was earning, I was sending home. It got to the point where I didn’t even want money anymore. It was just a burden. They never stopped asking. I guess they thought I was a millionaire already. I didn’t even have an apartment. I was living at the training ground in a room with no TV. Just football and sleep, football and sleep."
"I didn’t want a big house. I didn’t want cars. I just wanted to put everything into football. Everything to show the world that my sister was right……."
"Ha…. you will think this is funny. When I moved to play at RB Leipzig, I was always late. Well, not late. But I was on time, which in Germany means you’re very late."
"So you already know what I did next. I started arriving 90 minutes early to everything. I was so early all the time that the guys started calling me “The German.”"
"I always have to overdo everything. I have zero chill. You always said that."
"The pitch is the only place that I feel at home anymore. It’s the place where I feel calm, and I can speak to you. I just wish you were still here so I could tell you….. We did it."
"Everything you said came true."
"We’re leaving for the World Cup tomorrow. For real. Your brother is going to play for Côte d'Ivoire, like Drogba, like Yaya, like Gervinho."
"I don’t even look at it like a game. I look at it like a stage. This is my chance to show the whole world what you saw in me. Every time I score, I’ll make sure everybody knows your name. I’ll make sure they don’t forget you."
"You always said that I could be better than Cristiano. If I see him there, I’ll tell him hello for you."
"I’m going to do what you predicted, I swear. Before I even had real boots, you were telling everybody, “My brother is going to be the greatest in the world.”
"I will prove that you were right, or I will die trying... Your brother, Yan."
— @PlayersTribune
🇪🇬 ساعتين ونصف !
وثائقي تاريخي، أفضل وثائقي في تاريخ رياضة كرة القدم.
من شاب فقير من قرية بسيطة في دلتا مصر، خرج واجتهد ووصل للعالمية، حقق كل شيء، وصل لـ كل أحلام أطفال مصر..
محمد صلاح — القصة كاملة ! ❤️👑